Valentine’s Day can be an easy-to-forget holiday. Whether you're trying to give a thoughtful gift, figure out an at-home date night, or set the mood for the night ahead, there's a lot to juggle when it comes to nailing Valentine's Day. Especially since it falls on a Friday this year, you'll want to have the perfect night already planned before the weekend gets booked up.
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Personally, I'm an at-home kind of Valentine's Day gal—somewhere between the pandemic and parenthood, I fell in love with a cozy night in with a home-cooked meal and fun activity. There are ideas for that in this guide if you're on my wavelength, but also ideas for thoughtful gifts ranging from cool gadgets to classic flowers and chocolates that will arrive at your front door, gifts that set a sexier mood (and we've got a whole guide to sexy gifts if you want more ideas in that vein), and even a date night box that will help you think of reasons to leave the house. There's no shortage of ways to get romantic this February with the help of our guides.
Looking for more inspiration? Check out our Gifts for Lovers, Gifts for Moms, and Gifts for Dads. You might also find our guides to the Best Sex Toys, Best Vibrators, and Best Condoms are up your alley as Valentine's Day approaches.
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- Photograph: Nena Farrell
Flowers You Can Build
Lego SetsMy husband and I are on our third year of getting a set or two of Legos to build together as our Valentine’s Day date. It’s the perfect night-in activity, especially if you want to watch a movie or show together that won’t take a lot of focus—we watched the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series last year, and we plan to finish our current rewatch of Lord of the Rings this year.
The floral sets have been our preferred Lego sets for Valentine’s Day, since there’s a nice floral aspect and we can leave them out all year long. The Dried Floral Centerpiece ($48) has two similar halves you can each work on to click together at the end, or you can each build an individual Mini Orchid ($30) or Bonsai Tree ($50) side by side. Our combination this year is the Mini Orchid and the Plum Blossom ($30). I already can’t wait to enjoy them year round on our bookshelves.
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- Photograph: Nena Farrell
A Massage Candle
Maude Burn Massage CandleDon’t just gift a candle you found on your latest grocery store run. If you’re going to gift a candle for Valentine’s Day, lean into the romantic (and sexy!) theme with Maude’s Burn candles. Maude primarily designs beautifully minimalist sex toys and body products—we recommend their lube in our Best Sex Toys guide—and the Burn candle sits nicely in between those two areas as a candle that melts down into massage oil. It comes in four scents: the No. 0 is unscented, and my favorite of the scented three is the No. 1 for its warm amber tones, but you can choose the one that suits you and your partner best. The candle is made of jojoba- and soybean-based oil, giving it a low melting point so that it heats up easily but doesn’t get too hot to pour onto your skin. Maude recommends burning the candle for at least 10 minutes before using the oil—and make sure you extinguish the flames first. It’s fun and easy to use, as are the rest of Maude’s products.
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- Photograph: Vibratex
A Classic Toy, Miniaturized
Magic Wand MiniJust about everyone's heard of the Magic Wand. It's a pretty massive vibrator, and if you've hesitated to get it due to the large size (and high price tag), then it's time to check out the Magic Wand Mini. It's our favorite vibrator since it has everything we like about the original Magic Wand but with a smaller, wireless design. It's easy to use, has a nice three-hour battery life, and even has replacement parts you can buy. It's a fun investment to give as a gift without feeling like you're gifting them a third arm.
- Photograph: Simon Hill
Smart Jewelry
Oura Ring 4Jewelry is a classic Valentine's Day gift, but why give a boring pair of earrings when you could gift a ring that tracks their health? The Oura ring started out as a guy-only accessory, but the Oura Ring 4 (9/10, WIRED Recommends) looks more like true jewelery than any model before it. Even before the Oura Ring 4 arrived, Oura had more female users than male, and this gorgeous ring will only help it appeal to both men and women.
If you aren’t familiar with the power of the Oura Ring, it’s a smart ring that tracks everything from your steps to your temperature and heart rate. The updated model does a great job auto-tracking WIRED Reviews Editor Adrienne So’s physical sleep activity and sleep patterns and lasts the better part of a week on a single charge. The prettier metal finishes are expensive, but if you’re looking to gift jewelry that’s more than just pretty this year, the Oura Ring 4 is a great accessory for anyone who loves to track their activity.
- Photograph: Amazon
Date Night Ideas
The Adventure Challenge Couples EditionOne of the first and most well-known of the now explodingly popular date subscription box genre, the Adventure Challenge Couples Edition has nearly 40 date ideas to keep things interesting. All of the date ideas in the book are covered up by a gray box, with symbols indicating whether the date will be outdoors, if you’ll need transportation or a babysitter, whether it’s a day or night activity, how much time it takes and costs, and more, so you have an idea of what you’re getting into while keeping the date itself a surprise.
Scratch off the box like a lottery ticket to discover your date activity for the evening. I tried dates ranging from making a date night based on my partner's and my love languages to exposing a nearby town we've never been to, and other dates include an outdoor homemade movie screening, baking blindly, creating a memory box of sentimental items, and tons more. While some of the dates can be a little cheesy, it really is a great way to spend intentional time connecting more deeply and doing things together you wouldn’t normally do. It can also be a great jumping-off point for other date ideas in the future. Plus, you can upgrade to the Camera Bundle ($168) to get cute photos of you while on these date challenges. —Molly Higgins
